Life jacket



July 31, 1962 J. BERNHARDT 3,046,576

LIFE JACKET Filed Feb. 16, 1959 i i Y H f, 2

3,046,576 LIFE JACKET .lost Bernhardt, Holstentwiete 21-25, Hamburg, Altona, Germany Filed Feb. 16, 1959, Ser. No. 793,425 4 Claims. (Cl. 9338) The present invention relates to a life jacket and, more particularly, concerns a life jacket in which the buoyancy is produced by a plurali-ty of `envelopes or containers filled with air. The said envelopes or containers are so designed and arranged that one envelope or container surrounds the neck of the person equipped with the life jacket primarily in the manner of a collar, whereas the other envelope or container, which may consist of two parts, rests against the chest of said person'and is Connected with the first mentioned envelope or container so as to form a jacket. The life jacket is furthermore equipped with a bottle or vessel containing compressed air and equipped with a valve communicating with said envelopes or containers. `For certain reasons, the volume of said bottle or vessel and the air pressure prevailing therein are so selected that the quantity of air at an outer air pressure of approximately 1 atmosphere will fill a portion only of the total volume of the total envelope or container. The remaining quantity of air required for completely inliating all containers or envelopes has to be provided by oral inflation on the part of the person wearing said jacket.

The container or envelope surrounding the neck of the person has the purpose of securing va swimming position for the person wearing the jacket in such a Way that his breathing openings are prevented from immerging in the Water and for holding said breathing openings above the water level so that the access of breathing air will be assured.

it is the primary object of the present invention to make sure that the wearer of the life jacket will have the desired swimming position from the very `start in spite of the fact that the contents of the Ibottle or vessel containing compressed air can fill only a portion of the tota volume of all of the containers or envelopes. f

It is also an object of this invention vto provide a life jacket of the above mentioned type, in which that portion ofthe life jacket which surrounds the neck will be inated rst or primarily before the remaining Vportion of the life jacket is properly inflated.

lt is a further object of this invention to provide a life jacket of the type set forth above, in which means are provided for preventing the air from the jacket portion surrounding the neck of the person wearing the life jacket from passing into other portions of the life jacket.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention Will appear more clearly from the following specication in connection with the accompanying drawing vdiagrammatically showing a life jacket according to the presentinvention.

The life jacket according to the present invention is characterized primarily in that first the envelope or container portion `which is intended to sur-round the neck 4is inflated and only thereafter the envelope or container portion surrounding the chest is inllated. To this end, in conformity with the present invention, the connection of the compressed air bottle or vessel with the containers is so designed that a ldirect conduit of low flow resistance leads from said `bottle directly to the envelope surroundingV the neck, said conduit being substantially' straight and havingra branch conduit leading from said conduit to the container surrounding the chest. Means are provided which will offer a greater resistance to the air entering the branch conduit than to the air owing rates Patent 10i ICC in the substantially straight conduit leading directly from the' compressed air bottle to the envelope forming the neck portion ofthe life jacket. The said higher resistance in `the branch conduit may be obtained for instance by arranging the branch conduit at an angle to the substantially straight or main conduit leading from the compressed air bottle to the neck portion of the life jacket.

With the above arrangement according to the invention,

air is prevented from simultaneously liowing into all containers .or envelopes after the compressed air bottle valve has been opened. In particular, this arrangement prevents the air from said bottle first to lill :the envelope surrounding the chest, even though the conduit from said bottle to the container surrounding the chest is shorter than the conduit leading from the bottle to the neck portion of the life jacket. To the contrary, the arrangement according to the invention brings about that the air from the bottle first almost exclusively or at least to a major extent flows into the neck portion of the life jacket and inflates the same. Only thereafter, i.e. to the extent as the neck portion is being inated and the resistance in the conduit leading into the same increases, will the remainder .of .the air pass into the ychest portion of lthe life jacket. Consequently, it will be assured that the buoyancy is first produced in the neck portion of the life jacket which supports the head. In this way, from the very start, the person wearing the life jacket will be placed in proper swimming position in which the persons breathing openings will be held above the water level.

It has proved advantageous, particularly when the main as well as the branch conduit have the same effective inner diameter, to branch the conduit leading to the chest portion of the life jacket ot from the main conduit leading to the neck portion of the life jacket at an angle of approximately lf, however, it should be necessary or desirable due to the particular design of the life jacket or for other purposes, the said angle may also be selected less than 90 While in such instance the eflectiveV inner diameter of the branch conduit is made less than that of the main conduit. In this way an additional How ref sistance willbe produced in the branch conduit.

In order to preventA the air'in the neck portion of the life jacket from escaping into the chest portion of the life jacket before the chest portion has been orally inated by the wearer of the life jacket, it is advantageous to arrange a check valve in the main conduit, preferably near the point -where it leads into the neck portion ofthe jacket. Similarly, in the branch conduit leading -to the chest portion of the life jacket, a check valve may be provided; Such an arrangement will assure that in case a leak occurs in one of the air containers, no air'can escape from the other container.

inasmuch as these valves offer a certain resistance to the flow of air while the life jacket is being inflated, it is lin conformity ywith the present invention also possible Ito provide a check valve With lower flow resistance in the main conduit leading to the neck portion of the life jacket, whereas in the branch conduit leading to the chest portion of the life jacket a check valve with higher ow resistance is arranged. Particularly for the main conduit a check valve in `form of a flap valve may be selected.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the life jacket shown therein comprises two inatable envelopes or containers 1 yand 2 of elastic material such as rubber or synthetic material. The upper container or envelope 1 has the shape of a collar and is intended to surround the neck of the person wearing the life jacket. The buoyancy of said neck portion of the life jacket will maintain the head of the person wearing the life jacket in swimming position above the water level thereby assuring that the breathing openings of said person will always be kept Patented July 31, 1962 free. The envelope or container 2 lforms the chest portion of the life jacket and creates a further buoyancy in the desired swimming position of the person wearing the life jacket. Both containers or envelopes 1 and 2 are mounted on a supporting member 3 common thereto on which also those means (not shown) for connecting the jacket to the body of the wearer thereof may be fastened. The lower portion of said supporting member 3 has connected thereto a bottle or vessel 4 iilled with compressed air and equipped with a hand valve 5. A pressure conduit 6 representing the main conduit leads from bottle 4 or its valve 5 directly to the upper envelope 1. Adjacent the point where said main conduit leads into the neck portion 1 of the life jacket, there is arranged in said main conduit 6 a check valve 7, preferably of the flap valve type. Conduit 6 has a slight -bend near valve 5 and then extends substantially along a straight line into the neck portion of the life jacket. From the straight portion of main conduit 6 there branches oi a branch conduit 8 leading into the chest portion 2 of the life jacket. Also the branch conduit 8 has arranged therein a check valve 9 perferably in form of a ap valve. Conduits 6 and 8 have substantially the same eiective inner diameter. The angle at which branch conduit 3 branches oii from conduit 6 is approximately 90. However, if desired or necessary, this angle may also be less than 90 in which instance preferably the effective inner diameter of branch conduit 8 is somewhat less than the inner effective diameter of main conduit 6. At any rate, the effect will be obtained that the compressed air flow from the opened bottle 3 will take the path of least resistance through main conduit 6 in spite of the fact that the latter is longer than the branch conduit 8 and thus will first flow into and inflate container 1. To the extent to which during this inflation the ilow resistance will increase in conduit 6, the air will also pass through conduit Sinto the chest portion 2. Depending on the high pressure of the air in bottle 3, the above mentioned inflating process will be carried out rather fast, however, under all circumstances, in the sequencementioned above. This eiect may be further aided if the tlap valve 9 is given a higher flow resistance than the flap valve 7.

For completely inating the chest portion 2 of the life jacket, the latter is provided with a exible hose 10 of such a length that its free end carrying the mouthpiece 11 can easily be reached by the mouth of the person wearing the life jacket. In hose 10 there is likewise arranged `a ap valve 12 forming 4a check valve.

It is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is, by no means, limited to the particular construction shown in the drawing but `also comprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

Thus, instead of compressed air, also any other gas as for instance carbonic acid, may `be employed for inflating the containers 1 and 2.

What I claim is:

1. A life jacket having a support for connection with the upper body portion of a person and comprising: a iirst inflatable container in the form of a collar connected to said support and forming the neck portion of said life jacket for receiving and iloating the neck of the wearer of said life jacket in the water, a second inatable container connected to said support and forming the chest portion of said packet for floating the upper body portion of the wearer of said life jacket in the water, a cornpressed gas containing vessel likewise connected to said support for releasing gas under pressure to said inilatable containers, a iirst conduit leading from said vessel along a nearly straight line into said rst intlatable container, and `a. second conduit Ibranching off from said first conduit at such an angle that the tlow resistance vat the branching on point of said second conduit to the tlow of compressed gas from said vessel into said second conduit during the initial inating phase is higher than the ilow resistance offered by said trst conduit to the ow of `compressed gas from said vessel into said first inflatable container during said lirst inating phase.

2. A life jacket having a support for connection with the upper body portion of a person and comprising: a iirst inatable container in the form of a collar connected to said support and forming the neck portion of said life jacket for receiving and floating the neck of the wearer of said life jacket in the water, a second inflatable container connected to said support and forming the chest portion of said jacket for floating the upper body portion of the wearer of said life jacket in the water, a compressed gas containing vessel likewise connected to said support for releasing gas under pressure to said inflatable containers, la tirst conduit leading from said vessel along a nearly straight line into said first intiatable container, and a second conduit branching off from said first conduit at an angle of approximately so that the flow resistance at the branching ott point of said second conduit to the flow of compressed gas from said vessel into said second conduit during the initial inflating phase is higher than the ilow resistance offered by said tirst conduit to the flow of compressed gas from said vessel into said first inatable container during said rst inflating phase.

3. A life jacket according to claim 1, in which the inner diameter of said first conduit is greater than the inner diameter of said second conduit.

4. A life jacket according to claim 1, in which each of said conduits near the respective container into which they lead has mounted therein a check valve in the form of a flap valve.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,050,693 Richardson Ian. 14, 1913 2,538,775 Goldsmith Jan. 23, 1951 2,742,654 Hurt Apr. 24, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 476,359 Canada Aug. 28, 1951 1,523 Great Britain of 1909 546,082 Great Britain June 26, 1942, 

